Carried out by Christine Nash, John Sproule, Edward Hall & Cedric English
Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences
THE MORAY HOUSE SCHOOL of EDUCATION
The University of Edinburgh
St Leonardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Land
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh EH8 8AQ

Page 1 of 39

Contents Page

Executive Summary

3

Introduction:

4

Review and Analysis of Methods

6

Coach Demographics

11

Coach Learning and Development

15

Coach Support

19

Coaches Outside the System

22

Coaches Views of NGB Support

25

Conclusion and Recommendations

31

References

33

Appendices

34

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Executive Summary
The University of Edinburgh was commissioned by sport coach UK to investigate coaches
outside the system. The aims of this research were twofold:
1. To design a template for coaching organisations and NGBs to access the views of
coaches who did not engage with the system.
2. To carry out a pilot study using the template to ascertain the usefulness of the
proposed methods
The resulting template used a mixture of survey and interviews and concluded that an
anonymous online survey, followed up by individual interviews was the best method for
gaining the required information. The survey was cascaded using a variety of coaching
organisations and individuals to access as many coaches outside the system as possible
in the short timescale allowed. Interviews to gain deeper, richer data could be conducted
from survey respondents who indicated they would be prepared to be further involved in
the research process. These interviews should be carried out by non-involved individuals
to maintain the anonymity of the participants.
The pilot study collected 204 survey completions from 34 different sports with the
majority of responding coaches being either unqualified, Level 1 or Level 2 in their
sports. From this nine individual and nine focus group interviews were carried out. Key
messages from this pilot study included:

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








92% felt all coaches should continue to learn but then only 69% felt improving
their coaching was important to them
The internet now appears to be the most popular source of coaching information
for this group of coaches
24% of these coaches did not or had not used any coaching organisation for
support
55 governing bodies represented with 38.7% of coaches experiencing support as
opposed to 61.3% who did not feel supported
These coaches gave four main reasons for non-support
o Little or no support offered
o
Feelings of isolation
o Individuals, not NGBs, helpful
o
Political agendas
According to these coaches the system consists of Level 3 coaches and above
Student sport does not belong within the system
Cynicism from coaches about coaching organisations and NGBs
According to these coaches the system is concerned about collecting money not
supporting these coaches

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Introduction
Research suggests that despite the best efforts of sporting organisations coaches are still
operating outside the strategic framework. Coaching is a very complex and dynamic
task, often carried out in an ill-structured, constantly changing environment, which
means that the coaching role can take many forms. Much of our research has accessed
these coaches, examining their views on coach education, coach development and
support as well as highlighting their philosophies and practices. We have found these
coaches feel marginalised and therefore do not wish to join â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; organised activities
and often actively opt out of the system. This research should help to reach some of
these coaches and suggest an approach that is more inclusive.
Coaches in sport are given many opportunities to embrace new practice with the
ultimate aim of developing team or individual performance. Problems arise as the coach
attempts to make sense of all the available information or in some cases not to engage
with coach education initiatives designed to help with coaching effectiveness. According
to experienced coaches, learning from successful coaches is still considered an effective
method of achieving the development of coaching knowledge. This would suggest that
coaches need to be involved with the coaching system, whether that be a specific
coaching organisation or national governing body.
Coaches need to be part of a larger community to construct solutions to coaching
problems that they face (Gilbert and Trudel 2001) and this can be done on an informal
basis. Exponents of situated learning argue that through social interaction, authentic
activity, and participation within communities of practice, coaches are better able to
construct meaning in practical ways so that knowledge can be applied outside of formal
learning settings (Kirshner, & Whitson, 1997; Lave, & Wenger, 1990). Within some
sports settings and club environments there are sufficient coaches for this to occur
organically however Culver and Trudel (2006) advocated the importance of a facilitator
in the process, to ensure a positive learning outcome. This facilitator should be an
experienced individual with an in-depth understanding of the types of issues faced by
coaches, methods for resolving these issues as well as providing a platform for
discussion and learning. It is not always necessary that the facilitator is involved in the
same sport as the coaches or in some cases, sport in general.
How some coaches access and construct their knowledge to suit their particular coaching
context can be a determining factor in their development. Coaches need to be aware and
have knowledge and understanding of a diverse range of disciplines, such as learning
theory, self-reflection, motivational climate and knowledge construction as well as the
technical detail of their sport. They also need to develop communication and decisionmaking skills along with management and analytical proficiency. This vast array of
information is not always going to be available from the one source, whether a coaching
organisation, national governing body or coaching community. Coaches need to develop
the tools to make sense of all the information on offer and more specifically to develop it
for use in their own particular coaching environment. For this to happen coaches need,
not only, to be involved within the sporting system but also actively engaged with a
number of organisations, in order for them to maximise their coaching development and
learning.
Many coaches thrive inside the coaching system, accessing coach education courses,
networking opportunities as well as other formal development processes. Other coaches

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prefer non-formal learning sources such as contact with other coaches. King (1990)
suggests that the process of constructing new knowledge or the process of transforming
previous knowledge into new formats is actually enhanced through peer interaction.
Additionally, Bleed (2000) reports on the importance of socialisation in the learning
process. So, promoting learning partnerships and peer tutoring opportunities within
coaching environments may be useful strategies to enhance greater academic
understanding in adult learning environments. Another important aspect in the overall
spectrum of knowledge acquisition is that informal learning which is deliberate and
sustained. This learning can take place either alone or collectively, however support is
necessary, whether from colleagues, coaching organisations, national governing bodies
or other individuals. All of this evidence points to the importance of being involved within
the coaching system to access development opportunities. A number of coaches actively
opt out of this system whereas others drift out as a result of communication difficulties
and limited engagement with coaching. However, given the number of coaches who
could be operating outside the system, many organisations could benefit from further
information as to who these coaches are and how to encourage them to engage or reengage with the system.

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Review and Analysis of Methods:
The difficulty posed by this research is access to the participants as they are outwith the
system. There are a number of approaches that we would propose to develop and pilot.
We realise that the majority of this target group are unqualified or at initial levels of
qualification, however this is not always the case. Previous research has identified that
sometimes the databases maintained by National Governing Bodies are neither accurate
nor up-to-date so therefore more qualified and experienced coaches can exist outside
the system (Nash& Sproule, 2011).
Other areas of research, often health interventions, political engagement and studies
carried out in developing countries, have adopted methodologies to access nontraditional or disenfranchised participants. These approaches and our previous
experiences in coaching research have shaped our thoughts and proposed methods for
this study. We have had previous experience accessing coaches fitting the research brief,
as well as previous experience with the main aims of the research.
1. Participatory research is an innovative approach to data collection which allows
the researchers to acknowledge and appreciate that the research participants
have the necessary skills and knowledge to be partners in the research process.
Participatory action research emphasises the collaboration between researchers
and the particular group under investigation, often disadvantaged in some way
(Delman, 2012). Interest in this method has heightened as researchers
realised its potential to enhance the quality and usefulness of research outcomes
and the ability of these practice-based research networks to provide a bridge
between the research intention and specific communities (Williams et al, 2009).
Within sport settings this type of research has been used within physical activity
interventions.
2. We approached community sports leaders in a variety of geographical areas,
covering multisport activities. We anticipated that they would act as conduits to
coaches outside the system and enable them to access the survey document.
They would also be able to recruit suitable coaches for interview.
3. Communities of practice approach is a socio-cultural approach owing most of it
principles to Vygotskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Zone of Proximal Development (1978). Generally, the
closer the participant, in this case the coach, is to the source of knowledge within
their particular community of practice, the greater the effect. Many sports have
identified communities of practice, or coach support networks, often with a coach
developer organising the process. For example, in our work with the SRU, we
know they utilise coaches on an adhoc basis and the coach developers know and
access these coaches on a semi-regular basis. We would anticipate that others
sports work on a similar basis and we could utilise these coach developers to
access the coaches for both survey completion and interview.
4. Specific targeting of students. Many FE programmes prescribe coaching awards
as part of HNC/HND sport coaching awards. Often courses are arranged for
classes in some of the more popular sports (and cheaper awards). Again, from
our research and links with FE colleges coaching programmes, we know that
many of these coaching awards are not utilised and often these students are
coaching in other sports, often with no coaching qualifications. We would be able

Page 6 of 39

to target these courses with the online survey and follow up to interview selected
individuals.
We used a mixed method approach for this research using surveys, interviews and focus
groups to allow both breadth and depth of information gathering. For the quantitative
aspect we used an online survey (Bristol) to access as many participants from as many
sports as possible. Access to the questionnaire was open for approximately six weeks in
order to target as many participants as possible. The number of questions asked was
small but covered the key research questions below:

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






What is the participant’s awareness/experience of coaching support services?
What is the participant’s awareness/experience of coach education and
development?
What motivated you to start coaching?
Why are you still coaching?
What would help you develop as a coach?
How do feel you access coaching knowledge at present?
What are the aims of your coaching at present?
Do you have a coaching philosophy?

A Bristol Online Survey was developed using a previous questionnaire as a template. The
introduction to the survey covered the target group, coaches who have little or no
contact with coaching organisations or national governing bodies, and issues relating to
anonymity, confidentiality and consent. This survey was available online and was
distributed to coaching groups using the following methods:
Twitter: the survey was posted on twitter by both the researchers and Sport coach UK
using the hashtags (#) sport and coaching. There was a 140 character introduction
highlighting the target group of coaches. This message was retweeted by individual
coaches, coaching organisations and online coaching groups.
Email: The survey was sent to a number of sporting organisations and distributed
throughout their databases of coaches and coaching personnel. Similar information
about the intended target group of coaches was included with the initial information.
Word of Mouth: The survey was sent to contacts within NGBs and other sporting
organisations with the request that they could distribute and encourage completion
amongst their networks.
Coaching Organisations: Coaching organisations, such as sport coach UK and Coaching
Family, were contacted and distributed the survey to their members and associated
personnel.
LinkedIn: The survey link was sent using the message board on LinkedIn to all sporting
contacts and coaching groups. These individuals and interest groups were asked to
distribute the link to anyone they knew who may fit the criteria of ‘outside the system’.
College/University Lecturer: Universities and colleges who offer coaching courses where
sent the link to the survey and asked if they could distribute it to the target group of
coaches.

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Chart 1: How coaches accessed the online survey

1% 3.40%

2.90%
11.80%

4.40%

Word of mouth:

4.40%

Email:
Twitter:

4.90%

Facebook:
3.40%

Coaching organisation:
National governing body:
35.30%

Another coach:
Club:
LinkedIn

28.90%

College/University lecturer

As can be seen from the pie chart above the coaches in the survey were asked where
they had accessed the survey (See Chart 1 above). There are more responses given by
the coaches than original distribution outlets. This is down to the messages being
redistributed by both individuals and organisations from the original sources. Gathering a
critical mass for secondary distribution of the survey to interested and relevant
individuals is important to reach as many coaches outside the system as possible. This
process takes time so the short timescale of this project perhaps limited the amount of
responses collected. If organisations were to use this method then the suggested
timescale for survey distribution and completion should be 2-3 months.
There were a number of coaches completing the online survey who did not fit the
definition of coaches who have little or no contact with coaching organisations or national
governing bodies. Some of the completing coaches stated that they worked for a NGB or
coaching organisation so could be considered as part of the system. The online survey
style encouraged the coaches to answer all the questions and did not differentiate
between coaches outside or within the coaching system. The survey design could be
adapted so that if a respondent answered a question related to their engagement with a
NGB or coaching organisation positively, they could be precluded from the following
questions. It could also be used as a vehicle to gain the views of these two disparate

Page 8 of 39

groups, perhaps showing the extent of involvement or non-involvement within a
particular sporting organisation.
The questions often listed options for the coaches to choose from, some questions only
allowed one answer whereas other questions allowed the coaches to choose all options
that applied to that particular answer. Within many of the questions there was also an
‘other’ option which allowed coaches to add an answer that was not part of the listed
options. When analysing the data some of these ‘other’ answers were included within
existing options but if appropriate another item was added to the given answers.
With this type of online survey and given the distribution methods mentioned above
where coaches were participating in the research process and self-selecting of
respondents, there are some difficulties with the open access. For example, coaches in
countries other than the UK may be able to access and answer the online survey. With
hindsight, it may have been circumspect to ask the country from which the coach was
answering. The advantages of easy contact with a group of coaches who access
information online is useful for an organisation seeking answers to quick and simple
surveys however it needs to be remembered that not all coaches are online and familiar
with the methods used to distribute the questionnaire mentioned above, e.g. twitter,
LinkedIn. These methods of distribution could preclude some coaches from responding
as they are not part of this digital environment. This may be especially applicable to
some age groups and some sports.
Finally, the survey asked respondents to leave contact details should they wish to be
contacted for further information in the next stage of the research. Coaches who felt
they wished to contribute additional information could be asked to participate in either
individual or focus group interviews to gain further depth of information as to why some
coaches are outside the system.
An interview schedule was developed based upon the preliminary responses to the
survey. This schedule was piloted with a group of coaches and also discussed at a
research group meeting in an open forum (See appendix 1 for interview schedule).
There were a number of interviews conducted, either focus group or individual in nature.
This was a deliberate decision to evaluate if there was any difference in the type and
quality of information gathered, given the type of interview conducted. There were 9
individual interviews conducted with coaches of rugby union, football, athletics, cricket,
swimming, judo and hockey. There were also 9 focus group interviews conducted with
specific sports, as well as higher education students and mixed sports groups.
The interviewees were selected on a variety of criteria, firstly by the participatory nature
of this research; access to coaches was negotiated by the collaboration between
researchers and the particular group of coaches. Interviews with coaches in the sports of
cricket, swimming, badminton, rugby and athletics were arranged in this manner. Active
school coordinators were also approached, given the type of activities that tend to be
offered within their programmes: multisports, volunteer and short-term in nature, we
envisaged that there would be coaches in these settings who were outside the system.
We also engaged with coaching networks where there were a variety of coaches within
one particular sport. Generally we carried out interviews with coaches identified as a
result of methods detailed above. The reasons for this are twofold; firstly the coaches
may be able to give more depth to their non-involvement with the system. Secondly, by
talking to these coaches it may help them realise that there is support available and they
do not need to be isolated.

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Interviewed coaches reported that they were more comfortable expressing views to
researchers who were unknown, not part of their coaching environment or their national
governing body or coaching organisation. The type of interview setting was also
important, as generally individual interviews produced more information. The focus
groups allowed participants to listen to other views and then voice their own as well as
discuss other opinions. This can be useful but focus groups can have issues with
everyone trying to talk at once or one individual dominating the conversation. Focus
groups held with coaches involved in different sports tended to be more successful than
focus groups with coaches of one sport. It seemed that when the coaches did not know
one another, had little in-depth knowledge of the other sports and were given the
opportunity to share their experiences, the interview environment was more respectful
and inclusive.
Summary







Access to survey
o Would have been better to leave open longer
o May be better to revisit survey to preclude answers from non-target group
coaches
o Generated a lot of information
Interviews
o Individual interviews more effective than focus groups
o Short timescale meant fewer interviews could be scheduled
Mixed methods (Survey & Interviews) showed both breadth and depth of
responses. Each method complemented the other.
Useful template for organisations to gather information within their sports.

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Coach Demographics
The coaches in this study represent a distinct percentage of the coaching population in
the United Kingdom. There were only 204 completions and, as has been mentioned
previously, some of the coaches did not fit the criteria of outside the system but still
completed the survey. Their results are included here as it was impossible to separate
their answers to all of the questions from those responding coaches who conformed to
the criteria.
Table 1: Breakdown of respondents by sport
Sport

Number of
Respondents
1

% of Total

Archery

2

0.8

Athletics

11

5

Badminton

4

2

Basketball

9

4.4

Boccia

1

0.4

Bowling

1

0.4

Cricket

3

1.4

Curling

1

0.4

Cycling

3

1.4

Dance

1

0.4

Fencing

1

0.4

Football

66

32

Golf

2

0.8

Gymnastics

4

2

Handball

3

1.4

Hillwalking

1

0.4

Hockey

8

4

Judo

3

1.4

Karate

3

1.4

Kayaking

1

0.4

Korfball

1

0.4

American Football

Lacrosse

0.4

2

0.8

14

7

Netball

5

2.4

Orienteering

4

2

Rowing

5

2.4

Rugby League

2

0.8

10

5

Scuba

2

0.8

Shinty

1

0.4

Softball

1

0.4

Squash

1

0.4

11

5.4

Table Tennis

3

1.4

Tennis

5

2.4

Multisports

Rugby Union

Swimming

Page 11 of 39

Ultimate Frisbee

1

0.4

Volleyball

7

3.4

There was a wide range (38) of sports coached by responding coaches (see Table 1
above). Some of these completions were by small numbers of coaches in their sport
(boccia = 1; shinty = 1) whereas others sports had a significant number of completions
(football = 66), 32% of total completions. The completions came from all four countries
within the UK; Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
There were completions by unqualified coaches (30%) and qualified (70%). The
qualifications of participating sport coaches ranged as shown in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Coaching Level of Responding Coaches
Reported
Coaching Level
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Other

% of Responding
Coaches
32
34.5
23
5
4

Qualifications ranged from UKCC endorsed qualifications in various sports, NGB endorsed
qualifications from specific NGBs, European qualifications, such as UEFA A Licence, and
other qualifications from sports organisations, such as Sports Leaders.
There was considerable variation in the amount of experience of these coaches, ranging
from 3 months to 38 years. These coaches reported an equally wide range of average
hours coached per week, from 1 hour per week to over 30 hours per week. The average
hours coached per week by this group of coaches was just under six and a half (6.48).
The coaching environments were mainly clubs (41%) as can be seen by the chart below.
The coaches were asked to state their usual coaching environment, although some did
state that they coached within a number of different organisations but for the purposes
of this study they were asked to record their main environment (See Chart 2 below). It
may be of interest to NGBs and coaching organisations to discover the numbers of
different environments that coaching are currently working in.
Chart 2: Coaching Environments of responding coaches
3.90%

3.40%

2%

Local Authority
9.30%

Club

7.40%

School Sport
University Sport

16.20%
38.20%
12.30%

Community Sport Scheme
National Governing Body
Youth Club
Private

Page 12 of 39

There were a number of reasons given as to why these individuals were coaching (See
Table 3 below). As above some of the coaches mentioned that they had multiple reasons
for coaching, quite often a complex mix of reasons.
Table 3: Reason given by coaches for continuing to coach
Reasons for Coaching
Enjoyment:

26.00%

No. Of
Respondents
53

Challenge:

7.80%

16

No-one else available:

6.40%

13

Recognition:

2.50%

5

12.30%

25

4.40%

9

8.80%

18

15.20%

31

Like being part of a team:

3.90%

8

Money

5.80%

12

Looks good on CV

3.90%

8

Injury

2.90%

6

Want to give something back to
sport:
Competition:
Like passing on skills:
My children participate:

% of Total

There were similar reasons for coaches initially becoming involved (See Table 4 below)
although the main reason given by these coaches was a shortage of coaches at their
particular organisation (34.30%). This may be a reason for coaches starting but as can
be seen by the table above, it is not a reason to continue coaching, as enjoyment is the
main motivator for this group of coaches.
Table 4: Reasons given by coaches for starting to coach
Reasons for Starting Coaching

% of
Total
34.30%

No. Of
Respondents
70

I wanted to give something back to the
sport:
I wanted to earn some money:

23.00%

47

15.20%

31

It was something to do when I stopped
playing:
Olympic legacy

13.70%

28

5.30%

11

8.33%

17

Shortage of coaches at organisation:

Children taking part

Page 13 of 39

Summary




There were 204 completions from 34 different sports.
Majority of responding coaches were either unqualified, Level 1 or Level 2 in their
sports.
These coaches were mostly working within club environments, had started
coaching as there was a shortage of coaches at their organisation and they kept
coaching for enjoyment.

Page 14 of 39

Coach Learning and Development
Similar to the results found in the Coach Tracking Study (sportscoach UK, 2012) 69.6%
of these coaches felt that improving their coaching was important to them, saying:
‘Always like to see new ways to coach and listening to new ideas’
‘The day I stop developing myself is the day I stop developing my players’
‘I always want to learn and develop and I feel every coach, no matter age or
experience, should feel the same. In as much as players want to be the best they
can be, I also wish to be the best coach I can and go as high as I can in the
game.’
‘I am always looking for ways to integrate others sports into my coaching
practice. I feel other sports can be invaluable to child's growth. For selfish
reasons I would like to be the best possible coach I can be and will always have
an ambition to be the best, not in winning or losing, in terms of what I can give
young individuals that can support them through their life.’
There were issues raised in follow-up questions from a number of coaches:
‘In the present circumstances I want to quit’
‘But this depends on the opportunities for coaching. I found that already too
much administrative burden was being placed on me...and this detracted from
the coaching...so if developing my coaching leads to more administration, then
no, I will not develop further. If I can develop my coaching without taking on
administration, then yes, that would be of interest to me.’
‘Don't have any ambition to coach once my children move to secondary school’
‘Happy doing what I’m doing - coaching qualifications too expensive/time
consuming - too much politics with NGB.’
The majority of the comments related to time and expense being major factors in
development although over 30% of these coaches did not feel that they needed to
develop their coaching, often citing lack of time and expense as factors. Worryingly some
coaches did not perceive a need to develop:
‘Don't have time or inclination’
‘I have no ambitions beyond coaching at a youth recreational level. It is just a
hobby for me.’
‘Can’t be bothered’
There were some coaches who also wanted to learn and develop but expressed
misgivings – they did not know how to go about this, who they could approach and the
reception that they would get. However, more coaches (92.2%) felt that all coaches
should continue to learn and develop rather than the 69.6% mentioned above who felt a
personal need to develop their skills. Comments were generally positive with coaches
saying:
‘As a coach you never stop, or should never stop learning. Every match, coaching
session, meeting and event you learn something different. The little things you

Page 15 of 39

learn are normally the most important and effective ones. It's all about getting
out there and experiencing it.’
‘Coaches should continue to learn and develop as they need to be adaptable to
changes. Changes in the sport or society/culture requires coaches to adapt to
overcome certain issues. Coaches can also learn new ideas to keep their coaching
new and interesting, to prevent it becoming repetitive or boring for the team.’
‘Coaches should have an open mindset. No matter how long you have been
coaching you can always learn and develop further. Coaches with closed mindsets
generally think that what they are doing is bang on when in fact nothing is
perfect.’
There were those who thought that development was extremely important but the
delivery and content of some available options was not at the level they needed, saying:
‘Yes, this is important, but current requirements seem stilted, forced, and not
really aware of gender differences, even at young ages. They also don't actually
help with the practical sides of coaching or the details much...so it is altogether
too superficial and too hands off.’
‘A sport is often always changing. Old coaching methods may not be as useful in
the modern day. My NGB hasn’t quite got to grips with that yet.’
How coaches access knowledge and the sources of coaching information have grown
considerably in recent years. As can be seen in Graph 1 below, there is reliance by
74.5% of these coaches upon the internet as a source of coaching knowledge. This can
be a source of helpful and developmental information but the key to learning from the
internet is applying certain filters or evaluative processes before accepting everything on
the internet at face value.
Graph 1: How Coaches Feel They Gain Coaching Knowledge (% contained in Appendix 3)

When asked what would help them develop as coaches there was a wide variety of
answers, ranging from access to facilities and perceived experts, more readily available
information and again, time and money issues. For example, mentors were mentioned
by 24% of the coaches, as below:
‘A mentor who has a similar personality and style to give perspective and
guidance...and having a same gender mentor would help too since the gender
dynamics in girls sport are particularly pronounced.’
‘mentors for higher level coaches - I currently mentor but have nobody mentor
me.’
National governing bodies were equally highlighted as having a key role to play in
development, with coaches mentioning:
‘Further opportunities to increase my knowledge and keep up with changes in the
sport. Continuous professional development within the sport. Infrastructure within
the governing body that individuals can feel comfortable and have the support
whilst coaching.’
‘Being more supported. I don’t have a specific sport hence why I am not under an
NGB. Dance is a huge grey area and as both a coach and commissioner I find that
area the most dangerous as no-one seems qualified. I have had to let a number
of dance coaches go as they have degrees in dance not dance coaching! As a
sports coach Ii tend to work with younger children doing games, multi skills and
fitkids so not a specific sport. I would never coach a sport specific session.’
Networking or communities of practice was also mentioned by a number of coaches,
often in conjunction with other aspects of development. For example, technical and
tactical developments, were areas that coaches felt would benefit from discussion with
other coaches, as below:
‘Information exchange, seeing if other coaches have had the same or similar
issues and how they solved them. Not as formal or rigid as 'best practice' but
avoiding re-inventing the wheel.’
‘Mentorship, experience working within elite environments, communities of
practice to discuss literature.’
‘Workshop days are the best way for me to develop as a coach, short packed
days where you work with a facilitator to go through the sports different elements
and to try lots of different adaptations for the game. You share your knowledge
and experience with fellow coaches and all learn from each other. Sport is all
about taking what you know and adapting it to fit with what you teach.’
There were areas of current coach education highlighted as well as some suggestions for
future developments of interest to coaches, some stating:
‘Better CPD delivery. CPD seems to have become a business in its own right; this
can severely limit access and increase costs.’
‘Certainly developing a social qualification for coaching so coach/child/youth
interaction is more manageable. Some have a natural ability and others can’t or
don’t. Breaking through or understanding young footballer’s emotions, behaviour

Page 17 of 39

etc can be more difficult than actual football coaching. At the moment you really
just go with the flow and are restricted due to child protection issues.’
‘Access to more coach education, better more accessible facilities and above all
more coaches at grassroots levels. Developing them is key. Thus as a coach, once
they get to me they will have the fundamentals to be even better. But again, that
is down up facilities so it goes full circle.’
‘Better standard of coaches in the area unfortunately the majority of coaches in
the girls’ league are from the dinosaur age!!!’
Summary






The majority of these coaches wanted to develop their coaching
92% felt all coaches should continue to learn but then only 69% felt improving
their coaching was important to them
The internet now appears to be the most popular source of coaching information
for this group of coaches
Mentors, NGBs and communities of practice were highlighted as key methods for
coach development
Accessibility seems to be an issue between coaches and development
opportunities.

Page 18 of 39

Coach Support
Following on from coach learning and development the aspect of coach support was
further investigated. Coaches were asked to indicate what organisations that they had
used to support them during their time in coaching. As can be seen from Chart 3 below,
the highest percentage of coaches had used their NGB for this support. However a
worrying statistic is that over 24% of these coaches did not or had not used any
coaching organisation for support.
Chart 3: Organisations used for coaching support

sports coach UK
47

49

NGB
Institute of Sport
17

Skills Active

3
UK Sport
Youth Sport Trust
38

87

Home country sport organisation
CSP

20

Educational Establishment
22
11

22

None

When this was followed up by asking coaches how helpful they had found these
organisations there were mixed responses. A lot of the coaches had found one or more
of these organisations to be supportive and able to give the necessary assistance
however some coaches found all the organisations to be not as they hoped. For
example:
‘Sports Coach Uk are useless - if you request a course 6 months in advance for
your organisation they don’t start looking for a tutor until a month before so it fall
flat on its face. They’re good at talk, not at actions. Sports Leaders UK - very
good we are now using their Energy Club in our area and awards for our young
people.’

Page 19 of 39

‘Sport Coack UK do pretty well in getting you to think all the time about your
sessions, planning, information etc. making that become a good habit.’
‘Varies. NGB very limitting with strict rules and regulations. SCUK keep totally
changing things instead of making gradual updates (seemingly to force you to
repeat workshops).’
‘They provide workshops, certification and online sources to read. Quite helpful.
Shame it’s so expensive.’
‘SportscoachUK provided Child Protection Training required for insurance
purposes, etc. The course was useful but I had already undertaken several other
course so I was really just repeating things I already knew.’
‘NGB - I have found the coaching qualifications mostly drawn out and patronising.
I have enjoyed being coached by and observing top coaches. Sport Coach UK
courses can often be dated and I think some of the course content could be
covered in under an hour yet they seem to drag it out for 2-3hours.... this often
puts me off attending. I've attended both Coaching Matters & Coaching Talent
Programme workshops and found these relevant and interesting.’
‘BASIC, limited by the political tidings of the organisations.’
Initially it appeared that some coaches were not aware of the extent of support offered
by these coaching organisations as 37.7% of coaches admitted they did not know what
support was offered and another 38.2% said they were unsure. Of the 24% who said
that they knew what these organisations offered, the majority listed coach education
courses, disability awareness seminars and child protection workshops as the main
sources of support. Some others mentioned the availability of these organisations via a
number of sources:
‘I follow SportscoachUK on Twitter so can be selective on what I read. The NGB
could be more helpful.’
‘Available on telephone/web site/social media sites for advice.’
‘Support such as financial support and legal support.’
There did appear to be aspects of accessibility with a number of coaches complaining
that information was not easily available and the perception was that it took a lot of time
and effort on the part of the coach to get support.
‘I find dealing with them to be more burden than it is worth.’
‘I have tried to contact the person that took my NGB course but they kept giving
me the run around. Why are they so inaccessible - just to make it difficult!’
‘The big organisations seem to be more strategic rather than helping at grass
roots / individuals. Every time you call these organisations they’re not that
helpful, they just sound good.’
‘They are out of touch and are trying to steer the sport in a direction that is
antiquated.’

Page 20 of 39

‘They view coaches as potential consumers. The cost of qualifications is
exorbitant. Officers have work programmes which you must fit within or they will
not help you.’
Many coaches thought that dealing with some organisations at a local level was more
likely to be of benefit. That way they were able to speak to a specific individual and that
made future inquiries easier, less time-consuming and frustrating. When asked what
these organisations could do to better support coaches, many responses indicated that
these organisations should be more interested in the coaches, care more about them, be
more inclusive in their practices and most importantly, realise that as many coaches are
volunteers it must be made as easy as possible for coaches to access support. Other
concerns were:
‘Help me, not their bottom line or their work programme completion rates.’
‘Be more organised and communicate more effectively with coaches. Also be
more approachable to coaches contacting them – we don’t work office hours!’
‘Simplify themselves why do we need others such as sports coach uk/skillsactive
and the ngb?’
Summary





24% of these coaches did not or had not used any coaching organisation for
support
The most accessed organisations were NGBs, sport coach UK and the home
countries institutes of sport.
37.7% of these coaches did not know what support was available, 38.2% were
unsure and 24% said there were aware of the available support.
Information was not easily available and it took a lot of time and effort to get
support

Page 21 of 39

Coaches Outside the System
The aim of this research project was to target coaches who were considered to be
outside the system with the view to enabling coaching organisations and NGBs to put
strategies in place to involve these disenfranchised coaches back into the system. As has
been mentioned earlier, there were coaches completing the survey who were very much
inside the system. Therefore in the interviews, coaches were asked what they thought
the system was. Given the broad range of sporting backgrounds of the coaches, there
was considerable agreement on the definition. These coaches considered that the system
only existed for coaches at Level 3 and above.
A cricket coach explained his reasons for being outside the system, saying:
‘I guess I don’t really want to get involved, I don’t think it is necessary, for me
anyway, because I just don’t want to progress my coaching in that way. If it
were necessary for me to continue coaching then I would do it, but it isn’t, so I
don’t.’
A swimming coach, qualified at Level 2, reported his last interaction with his NGB was
over 5 years ago and that was only to book a child protection course, which he needed
to have. He admitted to being cynical about the NGB motives, saying:
‘I’ve been on this course before but with another organisation but my NGB won’t
accept this. I have to go on theirs because they don’t trust any other organisation
to deliver it properly. Cynically, I think it is about money so I don’t really deal
with them.’
A Level 3 badminton coach thought:
‘In terms of the system, the NGB is an important one and from that I get zero.
Every 3 months I get a magazine that is promoting everything that Badminton
England does that I’m not interested in. They were doing a coaching magazine for
badminton but that’s disappeared. So I don’t really get anything from the NGB
apart from every 12 months I have to pay subscriptions to get insurance. And
that’s pretty much the extent of it. No CPD or workshops on offer. There’s very
little coming from them, they’re not offering anything of any worth.’
A Level 1 football coach, spoke about his experiences in the United States and how his
interaction with the coaching system there was very different to his experiences in
England. He felt:
‘It’s up to me to go onto the FA website and have a look. No one has told us you
can go and get help. I think it is more your own incentive to go and look. Maybe
I’ve been lazy and I could have gone to more. Maybe they could make it a bit
easier for people but at the moment timing. I’m being quite successful at the
moment so I don’t think I need to look. When I did my Level 1 it was a case of
‘do it and that’s all you need to do’. There was no mention of any other support.’
Another cricket coach explained:
‘In terms of a qualification I only have a Level 1, which allows me to coach. I
don’t feel I need to develop this side of my coaching because I don’t want to
progress in the world of coaching. I just want to do what I am doing. You could
say the rest of my coaching comes from experience as I have played the game

Page 22 of 39

for over 20 years now and feel I understand it enough to help our kids at the U13
and U15 age group.’
One of the most disenfranchised groups were coaches involved in student sport. There
was a strong feeling that not only the coaches but also the student athletes were ignored
by coaching organisation and NGBs despite successes at UK level in BUCS competitions.
There was considerable difference between institutions regarding the organisation and
support offered to student sport. University sport tended to be better organised, better
resourced and offer a more extensive competition structure but within University sport
some sports were more high profile than others. One University sport manager could
boast:
‘If our alumni and current athletes’ medals were counted we would have finished
20th in the medal table at London 2012.’
Many coaches within student sport come from within the student body, although some
universities had well developed support structures for individuals, teams and coaching
personnel. Some of the sports had very healthy club numbers and entered into local
competitions as well as student sport competitions. Within the college system there
appeared to be less formal organisation and less organised competition. The coaching
appeared to be more ad hoc than organised, and, although some colleges did offer
academies for specific sports or teams, the players did not usually represent the college
in competitions.
The interviewed coaches tended to have very little contact with the NGB or other
coaching organisations. One coach thought:
‘It would be nice to know how to do things, to become more involved. Once a
year we get a letter saying ‘thanks for the money’. Perhaps a student component
within the NGB would help.’
A shooting coach explained:
‘I have no idea how the system works. It seems if you are in a university team
they ignore talent. I won BUCS, got better scores than people in the
Commonwealth team but I don’t belong so I’m ignored.’
A basketball coach thought:
‘There is a lack of information and communication – I’m not sure where it breaks
down. We have a good set up here, good players and a lot of support and backing
from the university. Why would be bother with the NGB – it would be nice but the
uni are more helpful and accessible.’
The badminton coach thought that there were a lot of players within the university
badminton club who were there for social reasons, which was good for numbers and club
viability but presented financial difficulties for organising coaches and team training
sessions. He said:
‘At present we rely on people who have cars because going to competitions is so
expensive.’
He continued:

Page 23 of 39

‘We have teams competing within local leagues and also with BUCS. We want to
double the number of teams but don’t have the resources at present. Badminton
Scotland runs a student competition once a year which is very popular but the
standard of competition in Scottish Student Sport is just not high enough.’
Summary





According to these coaches the system consists of Level 3 coaches and above
Student sport does not belong within the system
Cynicism from coaches about coaching organisations and NGBs
The system is concerned about collecting money not supporting these coaches

Page 24 of 39

Coaches Views of NGB Support
As most of the coaches in the survey identified their NGB as their most common
organisation to try to access information, more information was collected about these
coaches’ perceptions of the support offered by their NGB. The coaches came from 34
sports but they identified 55 different NGBs and there were some coaches who did not
know who their NGB was (See Appendix 2 for detailed breakdown).
As can be seen in the chart below, 38.7% of coaches felt supported by their NGB as
opposed to 61.3% who did not feel supported.
Chart 4: Coaches perceptions of NGB support

38.72%
Yes
No
61.28%

The majority of reasons given fell into 4 categories:
1. Little or no support offered
2. Feelings of isolation
3. Individuals, not NGBs, helpful
4. Political agendas
A number of the coaches had considered their answer very carefully, saying:
‘I have answered yes although without much enthusiasm. I acknowledge that
there is a national stepped coaching structure and there is a programme of
coach-related events. There are also regional coach development officers -- there
is no lack of resource. But coaching is only part of a bigger picture, and it is really
hard to see the visible effects of the NGB's influence on standards across the
game in Scotland, which appears to be in rapid decline. In short, I'm not
convinced they are getting things right, but that may have more to with the way
the sport is organised. If something is badly organised to start with no amount of
support, no matter how good that support is, will make it work.’

Page 25 of 39

‘They offer many courses related to coaching and getting people started in
coaching however, I feel that the after support for coaches isn't the best. I feel
I’m on my own.’
‘I have only been a coach for a short period of time however I have met, through
a variety of different courses a number of different coaches, ex players, ex
managers and each of them have the same belief, to see our national sport
progress. They are always willing to talk or make themselves available at a later
date to chat. They've been great! The system is not always as helpful.’
‘I've been an elite coach for 6years and due to lack of support from staff dealing
with logistics and coaching; I’m taking time out this season or for the foreseeable
future. My squad were given some funding to develop coaching but it was a
measly amount and we were restricted with what we could use it for. What I
really wanted to use it for, purchase a video camera I was told I couldn't. We
were also told we would be getting it towards the end of the season, when it
would have been used if we'd received it at the start of our programme. We didn't
use 1 penny of it.’
‘Neither yes or no. When I have undertaken coach education then yes for sure I
was supported however I do not think that their current CPD actually helps me as
an individual so at this point in my coaching career I do not feel that well
supported. Although I should point out that it is not entirely the NGB's fault. The
CPD offered would be great for a newly qualified coach who has little knowledge
of training etc but I have got to a level with coach education I cannot go past and
I have a degree in applied sport sciences as well as a PGDE in physical education.
Therefore I am my own victim of circumstance.’
A number of coaches were quite dismissive of their NGB accusing them of not caring, not
being interested in the coaches and always expressing the NGB views, saying:
‘Just poorly set-up, Seem to be un-interested in development and more
interested in fining clubs.’
‘Maybe I'm not the type of coach they want to encourage - I'm a parent. Not high
profile.’
‘Netball played in primary school does not seem important to them. They want
everyone to join one of their clubs.’
‘Not enough money comes back to grassroots unless it is seen to support those
employed by the NGB.’
‘NGB is not interested in meeting the needs of the members and is a completely
self serving entity for promotion of its directors and insular volunteers who all
come from one or two clubs.’
‘Qualified as a Level 2 coach in 1998 - they have never contacted me - doubt
they know I exist.’
‘They don't want to listen - they are too busy fighting with each other and scoring
points.’
‘They seem completely unaware of the realities of coaching.’

Page 26 of 39

Coaches were asked to rate their NGBs on some of the support that they might offer
(See Graph 2 below).

NGBs were rated best by these coaches at keeping their websites current and not good
at helping coaches to access funding. Communication was still seen to be a problem by
some coaches (57.6%0 but not an issue by others (34.8%). As these coaches were
meant to be outside the system, communication would be expected to be more of a
problem area than it appears to be from their responses.
Coaches were asked what would encourage them to have more regular contact with their
NGB, in effect, what could persuade them to come into the system. There were a wide
range of answers with coaches saying:
‘A specific person who deals with the needs of coaches who is easily identifiable on the
website.’
‘Bringing in experts in sports development and delivery rather than working only with
those who were previously participants or performers in sport but who lack specific
knowledge of NGB support systems, delivery and development issues.’

‘More of a online chat forum or database for coaching information and ideas.’

Page 27 of 39

‘People who were more available, welcoming, friendly, and efficient. Having a system that
was clearly focused on the right things and not paper work and wasting time and creating
inefficiencies for someone to manage.’
‘More direct contact. Not always asking for money’
‘More evidence that they were interested in me, my players and our goals.’
‘I need to finish my qualification but it was so bad I don't want to.’
‘A facebook or twitter feed with open access to coaching information and a forum.’
‘A better outreach to local/university club coaches/committees.’

I do feel sometimes that things could be more easily accessible. It is hard to go
to a venue and take part for one or two hours in an evening, maybe that is
something they could think of, some way of accessing these courses on-line or
something. It just takes up so much time.’
Some of these ideas are easier to implement than others, requiring time and resources.
Others actually already exist but it would appear that these coaches are either unaware
of this or not able to access these resources easily. Given the slightly negative feedback
from these coaches about the support services offered by the NGBs these coaches were
then asked what support they would like the NGBs to offer.
Graph 3: What coaches would like from NGBs
250
200
150
100
50
0

Very Unimportant
Unimportant
Unsure
Important
Very Important

Listening to feedback appears to be a key concern of these coaches and this was made
evident through the responses to the final survey question. The coaches were asked

Page 28 of 39

‘what could your National Governing Body do to help you coach’ and this question
seemed to provoke some quite inflammatory responses from these coaches. Responses
included:
‘Be interested in me and my coaching. Listen to my needs. Stop trying to pigeon
hole me into something that suits them.’
‘Coaching network would be excellent, if there is one - then advertise it more so
that I know about it! I've had 1 meeting with the coaches from my club and it
was very interesting to hear from others who have had or are having similar
issues and how they have or propose to overcome them, I'd like more of this, to
share the knowledge for the good of the sport.’
‘One thing they could do is alleviate the HUGE and completely unnecessary
administrative burdens on youth coaches. There is no reason why I should have
to call a referee to remind them when to show up at what is a paying job. I
should not have to take out money to pay them and then claim it back from the
club. I should not have to fill in a register of my players every single week,
indicating who is starting and who is a substitute, sign it, sign the other team's,
sign regarding the field quality, etc., and then confirm the referee report by
emailing in the score. I should not have to confirm my home team colours every
home game or remind the opposing team that they need to show up and not be
in our colours. Seriously. This is a huge waste of my time and life and is a huge
barrier to staying involved in coaching. Teams who join a league should honour
their commitment to show up to games. Referees who are being paid should
show up to their jobs...and the NGB should set up a system to administer referee
payments. Each season, the clubs can pay the NGB an amount equivalent to what
they would pay refs in the season, and then the NGB can transfer that money to
referees each week AFTER those referees send in the paperwork about the game
that they are required to. Team home and away colors should be registered with
the NGB at the beginning of the season and posted online, with the rule that
when any club colours overlap, the away team for any week is responsible for
being different. There. Problem solved.
‘More localised coach development days. Say you become a qualified coach and
you go away and start coaching that sport weekly. Then I feel every 4 months
there could be a development day where coaches could attend an event where:Best practice :- Coaching specific skills :- Adapted sessions workshops could take
place. That way you’re always learning and developing your skills, you network
with other local coaches and you keep in contact with NGB's.’
‘Provide the necessary framework and expertise to filter new concepts and best
practice down to all levels.’
‘Stop ensuring that all decent coaching jobs go to their own employees. In cycling
all coach education is carried out by volunteers, in rugby almost all is carried out
by paid staff as an addition to their salaries.’
‘Release more information, speed up development and offer more training.’
‘Find a way to make me feel part of the system…..’

Page 29 of 39

Summary
ď&#x201A;ˇ
ď&#x201A;ˇ

55 governing bodies represented with 38.7% of coaches experiencing support as
opposed to 61.3% who did not feel supported
Four main reasons for non-support
o Little or no support offered
o
Feelings of isolation
o Individuals, not NGBs, helpful
o
Political agendas

Page 30 of 39

Conclusion and Recommendations
The purpose of this study was twofold; firstly it was to design a template for coaching
organisations and NGBs to access the views of coaches who did not engage with the
system. Secondly, it was to carry out a pilot study using the template as a test to
ascertain the usefulness of said template. Given the current coaching environment that
coaches operate within, accessing coaches who do not wish to participate in organised
activities can be a time consuming and difficult task. However, coaching development
and effectiveness can be affected by separation and lack of engagement with a vibrant
group of similar-minded individuals.
The online survey was developed and distributed using a number of methods. The most
popular were internet based; email and twitter. This was then followed by word of
mouth. All of these methods made use of respondents or individuals within sports
organisation passing on the survey, thus creating snowball effect. The responses from
the surveys helped the next stage, the interview process, in two ways. First, the initial
survey responses were used to design the interview schedule and second, the last
question of the survey allowed coaches to leave their details should they wish to
participate in the interview process. Although this is a robust design the type of
questions being asked and the potential responses would make this best administered by
a non-involved individual or team.
Recommendations for Methodology





Distribution using coaching networks and social media sites
Stricter monitoring of respondents
Survey to remain open for 2-3 months to enable snowball effect
Individual interviews as follow up from survey to be carried out by non-involved
interviewer.

The pilot study gathered 204 survey responses and carried out nine focus group and
nine individual interviews. The majority of participants in the survey and interviews were
either unqualified coaches or those qualified at Level 1 or Level 2. Key findings from the
interviews included:











92% felt all coaches should continue to learn but then only 69% felt improving
their coaching was important to them
The internet now appears to be the most popular source of coaching information
for this group of coaches
24% of these coaches did not or had not used any coaching organisation for
support
55 governing bodies were represented with 38.7% of coaches experiencing
support as opposed to 61.3% who did not feel supported
These coaches gave four main reasons for their perceptions of non-support
o Little or no support offered
o
Feelings of isolation
o Individuals were helpful, not NGBs
o
Political agendas
According to these coaches the system consists of Level 3 coaches and above
Student sport does not belong within the system
Cynicism from these coaches about coaching organisations and NGBs
According to these coaches the system is concerned about collecting money not
supporting coaches

Page 31 of 39

It is anticipated that the results of this pilot study will give all involved sports
organisations basic information about the perceptions of this group of coaches. It is
hoped that these sports organisations will be able to use the template to gather more
information from their coaches. As there were 204 responses from 34 sports the data
collected cannot be generalised to any specific sport or organisation. Sports organisation
should understand the needs of their participants so should be able to adapt the
template to suit their needs more appropriately.

Appendices
Appendix 1: Interview Guide
Questions
Give me an overview of
your current coaching
environment
Your background
Why did you start coaching
Why are you still coaching
Could you tell me a little
about your coaching
philosophy
What do you think you
need to improve in your
coaching?
What is your memory of
your last interaction with
NGB?
This survey is about
coaches outside the system
– what links/connections do
you have with the system
What has been your
experience of coach
education courses

Probes
Sport
Age group
Environment
Aims/objectives
Coaching qualifications
Experience
Length of time coaching
Key motivators
May be more than one
Still motivated
Anything changed
How did you decide on this

Examples?

How can you tell?

Examples?

When
What – coach ed
course/update/meeting
Positive/negative
Why is it this way
Why are you not involved

Need to be very careful
not to lead here

How long ago
Level
Coach educators

I’m trying to get a sense
of what ‘outside the
system’ means to these
coaches
It may be that their last
interaction with NGB was
Coach ed so we need to
play this one by ear

How do feel you access
coaching knowledge at
present?
What coach support
services are you aware of

What is your experience of
them

Positive or negative
experience but try to
ascertain how
easy/difficult they found
accessing services

Coaches Outside the System

This report examined the views and experience of coaches who consider themselves 'outside the sytem'. A pilot study collected 204 survey completions from 34 different sports with the majority of responding coaches being either unqualified, Level 1 or Level 2 in their sports.